Discover Your Super Soul

Don’t wait for old age. Let us give up the insatiable material desires now.

Purushottam Nitai Das April 2, 2014

An old man in State Bank of India was inquiring about car loan. The agent asked, “For whom you want the car?” “It’s for me”, the old man said. “And what’s your age sir?”, the agent again asked. “It’s 76!” I don’t know whether he got the loan or not. Or whether his desire (or need) to buy a car was right or not. But one thought which immediately struck me was that will there be a day in my life when all my desires (of course material) will cease to end. Will there be a day when I will not want any worldly things, I will completely feel satisfied and be at total peace?

Desires are endless, the moment one gets fulfilled, immediately the other pops up. In school I wanted the best bicycle. In college the best bike. Now the best car. In future something else will fascinate me. Many a times our desires are not for our basic needs, but it is because of social pressure or a longing to prove our worth to others. My car should be bigger than that of my neighbors, my Smartphone should be completely different than that of my friends, my television set should make people go crazy and so on. Advertisements of today are also tailor made to titillate our ego. Ads like “Neighbors envy owners pride” or “Designed for envy” try to entice people to go on reckless shopping spree.

We accumulate many things which we may not even need; it turns out to be a total wastage of money. Desires are umpteen and the craving to fulfill it keeps on torturing us every moment. Many think that with age desires keeps on dwindling. But I don’t think it really happens. With age the form of the desires changes but not the yearning. If we want to lead a peaceful life then it is imperative for us to get rid of our insatiable desires right now. Even Krishna speaks about the importance of giving up the desires in Bhagavad Gita 2.70. And he does not specify any age limit for this.

Bhagavad Gita 2.70: A person who is not disturbed by the incessant ﬂow of desires – that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being ﬁlled but is always still – can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.

Why to pray to God only for worldly things?

Purushottam Nitai Das February 24, 2014

A friend of mine has a beautiful daughter who is very young. By her innocent antics, she entertains all. Once she went in front of the picture of Radha and Krishna and reverentially folded her hands in front of the Lord. She stood there for few minutes. All of us were pleasantly amused, her mother was very excited. She embraced the little child and then said something which was although not shocking but saddening. Taking the little girl on the lap, she instructed her in a serious tone, “Always pray to Krishna so that He makes you an IAS officer. Do not pray to him for any other thing. This should be the only prayer throughout your life till you achieve your coveted goal.”

Such demands from God are not uncommon. People mostly knock at the doors of God with their wish list and ask him to fulfil all of them. It’s just like the way we place our order to a waiter in a restaurant. As the waiter is obliged to bring everything which we had asked him for, similarly we want that God should also be on his toes to fulfil all our desires. And the same thing we teach to the younger generation.

Why should we pray to God for material positions and possessions? And whenever we stand in front of God then why should we always ask for something from him. Why don’t we go in front of him to simply share our feelings with him, to express our love, to thank him for all the beautiful things he has given to us? God being our maintainer and sustainer takes care of all our basic necessities. Before a child is born, he arranges milk for the child. He gives us food, air, oxygen to breathe, water and everything which is required in our life. It is other thing that we humans never cared for these invaluable gifts and exploited the natural resources. God always takes care of all our needs.

How would a father or a mother feel, if their child always comes to him only to ask for something. Give me money, buy me a bike, a laptop, an iPad, a fancy mobile, a trendy dress etc. And once the demand is fulfilled he turns his back towards his parents. But if the demands aren’t met then the child starts accusing the parents for callousness. How much pain it would cause to the caring mother and father? But if the child simply embraces them with love then how much joy the parents would experience.

Do we ever think that how God, our father, would be feeling when we go in front of him with our demand list. Holy books and holy men have taught us what to ask and what not to ask from God. In Sistastakam prayer, Lord Chaitanya teaches us how to pray to God: “O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want your causeless devotional service birth after birth.” This is how we should approach God – not for any worldly things but to selflessly serve and offer our love to him.

Burn the seed of lust

Purushottam Nitai Das February 7, 2014

A seed is tiny in size but if watered regularly it grows into a gigantic tree. Similarly, any desire in our mind initially may appear to be extremely small however if we keep on nurturing that tiny little desire then slowly it becomes extremely big. And that specific desire or thought starts affecting our daily life. How it happens? Suppose that we see an obscene picture in a newspaper or on a billboard (these are anyway plenty available these days), our mind like a blotting paper captures that image and stores it. Now if we start thinking about that image constantly and start enjoying it then gradually we would start getting absorbed in it. Soon 24hrs a day we would remain obsessed with that thought. Since, it is impossible to get the actual person of the picture, so people who contemplate on such thoughts start devising other means to satisfy their obsession. They soon get hooked to pornographic magazine or movies or start searching stealthily in the outside world to fulfill their nasty lusty desires. Lust is extremely dangerous, it ruins our life. Bhagavad Gita explains that it is the gateway to hell and every sane man should guard themselves against it. “There are three gates leading to this hell—lust, anger and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul.” Bhagavad Gita 16.21. Turn the pages of any newspapers or peep into any history books, there would be plenty of stories of crimes, suicides and even war due to lust. The two men who raped a 5 year old small girl in Delhi told to the police that it was pornography which they were watching on their mobile which instigated them to abduct the innocent child and rape her. Addiction to lust defeats us, humiliates us and finishes us. Lust should be nipped in the bud. So as soon as any lusty thought crops in our mind then we should immediately burn that seed before it poisons our life. One of the best ways to fight the disease of lust is by chanting the name of God like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Chanting strengthens our will power and purifies our consciousness which helps us to immunize ourselves against lust.

Vasant Panchami – day to offer our love to Radha and Krishna

Purushottam Nitai Das February 4, 2014

Today is Vasant Panchami, the first day of spring. Spring is considered to be the best of all the seasons. Different varieties of colorful flowers of various shapes and sizes swarm the earth in this season. The multicolored surrounding exudes sweet fragrance calling people to enjoy the beauty of God’s beautiful creation. The day becomes more beautiful when devotees offer gorgeous garlands prepared by these flowers to Radha and Krishna and bathe them with flower petals and colorful leaves. The sweetness of the ambience rises at its peak when everyone melodiously sings to glorify the Lord. This is the best way to celebrate Vasant Panchami. The divine couple, our original and eternal Supreme Father and Mother, is most beautiful and loving and when we express our gratitude towards them by giving them the best of this world then they became extremely happy and we too as his parts and parcels feel complete satisfaction and deep bliss.

Starve the senses to enjoy it

Purushottam Nitai Das February 3, 2014

Our senses if untrained and uncontrolled behave like a serpent ever ready to bite us. We mostly suffer because we fail to control our senses but remain controlled by it. For e.g. if one does not control ones speech and is loudmouthed then sooner or later one will face the music. Or else, if a person always remains absorbed in satisfying ones taste buds then from morning to night one will be busy looking for palatable foodstuffs. The problem is that the more we walk the extra mile to act as per the dictum of our senses, our senses becomes more demanding. Soon we become slaves of our senses and start dancing to its tune. Senses are just like serpents; the more we feed milk to a snake the more it becomes poisonous, similarly the more we try to appease the senses the more violent it becomes. Bhagavad Gita too warns the danger of being controlled by the senses, “As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the water, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man’s intelligence.” (Bhagavad Gita 2.67)

So if we want peace in our life then we should start saying NO to our senses. Initially like a mad dog it will go berserk. But if we keep on starving it then slowly it will emaciate and we can then easily imprison them. Our senses will then become ours and instead of us being under its subjugation we can dictate terms to them. Once we become the master of our senses then our senses will become our best friend and would never trouble us.

365 steps towards perfection

Purushottam Nitai Das January 1, 2014

Suppose that we invest our hard earned money in a company’s share which promises to give a very high return at the end of the year. But we find that throughout the year the market value of the share keeps depreciating and at the end of the year we have lost all our money. Next year the same company again launches a new scheme and asks us to purchase its share. How many of us would ever think of buying the share from the same company again? Probably no one because the company would have lost its goodwill, credibility and our trust.

2013: How was the return?

Now let us assess year 2013 and find out what return it has given to us. Considering ourselves as a smart investor we had invested a lot in 2013. We had celebrated its birth and had danced in joy thinking that the year would wipe out all miseries from the world and will bring happiness in our life. Now let us ask ourselves how the year ‘2013’ was? Did it satisfy all our dreams, desires and schemes? Did the world become a better place to live? Or still we are being haunted by the menace of terrorism, communal violence, natural calamities, diseases, death of our beloved ones, financial and job insecurity etc. The answer is anyone’s guess. We can convincingly conclude that year ‘2013’ did not live up to its expectation. Similarly, in 2013 we had agreed that ‘2012’ was disastrous, in 2012 we accepted that ‘2011’ was terrible, in 2011 we admitted that ‘2010’ was tragic and so on. If we turn the pages of history books then we would be astonished to see that every year the same story of death, violence and disaster gets repeated unabatedly. If we gloss over the newspapers of 1913 (hundred year back), we will find that during that time also people were struggling with similar problems. In 100 years we may claim that we have advanced technologically, we may be today moving in fancy cars or conversing on smart phones but the lives basic problems remain unanswered and unresolved.

Searching life’s manual

In spite of us being so desperate for happiness why does it mostly elude us? Let us try to investigate this worrisome phenomenon. Suppose that we purchase an electronic gadget and the product manual says that if it is operated beyond 500 volts it will give an electric shock. Initially we may doubt the warning and try to operate it beyond 500 volts. However while doing so we get a terrible shock. Henceforth will we ever operate it above 500 volts? In fact we would develop unflinching faith in the gadget’s manual and will believe each word of it. In order to use any product effectively we need to follow the product’s manual carefully. Similarly to know how to live in this world properly we need to search for life’s manual and live as per its guidelines. Vedic literatures like Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Isopanisad have been the guiding light for humanity since the dawn of creation. As for the electronic gadget to work effectively the product manual provided certain guidelines. Similarly to live happily in this world there is few do’s and don’ts which we are supposed to follow. These rules and regulations have been elaborately discussed in Vedic literatures, the oldest book of humanity.

Krishna’s wisdom words

Krishna, the supreme God, in Bhagavad Gita 8.15 calls this world as dukhalayam asaswatam, an abode of miseries. This material world is a place where one will experience only suffering. Now since Krishna has already defined the nature of this world then how can we expect that this world will provide us any happiness? Finding happiness in this world is like catching cloud and pinning it down. Our effort will never bear any result. And this is why in spite of all endeavors we hardly experience any satisfaction or happiness here. Everyone would agree with me. However let us not become despondent by hearing Krishna’s candid remark about the plight of those living in this world. Although this world is an awful place to live but Krishna, our Supreme father, being benign gives us a formula to transcend miseries of this world. He exhaustively explains: “How to be happy in this world” and “How to immunize ourselves against material miseries”. To achieve this we need to emulate the footsteps of Arjuna, Krishna’s friend and disciple. Arjuna was in quandary at the battlefield of Kurushetra but after he decided to bring Krishna in his life, his all problems got resolved. He not just emerged victories in the epic battle but was also able to transcend all sufferings. Like Arjuna, we too need to spiritualize our life and live as per Krishna’s advice. As the sun rises, the darkness dissipates. Likewise the moment we open our heart to Krishna all the sufferings and miseries from our life will vanish and we would be exposed to unlimited bliss.

How to be happy in this world

In Gita 3.10 it is explained that one can be happy in this world only if one performs yajna [sacrifice] for the satisfaction of Vishnu [Krishna]. The yajna recommended for this age [Kaliyuga] is the sankirtan yajna i.e. chanting the names of God like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. As we saw that if a company’s share perform badly then the investors do not put their money again in it. Similarly we have been investing our time, energy and efforts in material aggrandizement for several years but the return has always been horrible. It is time for us to change our strategy. Now, we should not simply run for material positions and possessions and not try hard to satisfy the unlimited demands of our body and senses because these activities would never ever bring contentment, we have a firsthand experience of this. “Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is well situated and is happy in this world.” (Bhagavad Gita 5.23). So, instead of wasting our time in mindless material activities we need to spiritualize our lives and try to develop relationship with Krishna. “One who is not connected with the Supreme [in Kṛṣṇaconsciousness] can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?” Bhagavad Gita 2.66.

If we are serious about transforming our lives then we need to act as per Krishna’s wisdom words. Krishna promises that those who take his shelter, he personally takes care of them, “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” (Bhagavad Gita 18.66). Disregarding the instructions of the gadget’s manual gave us an electric shock; similarly if we fail to comply by the pristine message of Vedic scriptures in letter and spirit then we should be ready for a terrible shock in our life. In this year, 2014, let us not repeat the mistakes of previous years but start living as per the guidance of sacred Vedic books and bring Krishna in our life. And the best way to do is by chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra,” Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare”.

It is said that if we take a single step towards Krishna then he takes hundreds of steps towards us. Let us begin by taking at least one single step towards him every day. So this year we should take a vow that we will take at least 365 steps towards Krishna. A single step each day will act as a springboard and take us closer to Krishna where we will be the recipient of limitless bliss and complete satisfaction.

The yogi whose mind is fixed on Me verily attains the highest perfection of transcendental happiness: Bhagavad Gita 6.27

We lament, we fret, we hanker and we regret

Purushottam Nitai Das December 27, 2013

The fire of unlimited desires constantly burns our heart. Desires always tease us and like an uncontrolled horse make us wild. Few of the most common desires which everybody nurtures is – desire for amassing wealth, owning a palatial bungalow, driving the most luxurious car, having a beautiful/handsome sexual partner, becoming famous, possessing the latest and the best gadgets and gizmos of this world, remaining always young, looking always attractive, being the cynosure of everyone’s eyes..… and so on. Our desire list is unending and incremental. Out of these lists some of our desires may get fulfilled but not all. And the once which will get fulfilled will also not last with us forever. Although we spend our life running behind our insatiable desires, it never brings any pleasure in our life. Our whimsical mind cheats us and gives us a false hope that happiness will be ours once all our desires get fulfilled. We lament, we fret, we hanker and we regret thinking “If only I would have achieved “it” I would have been happy today” or “If only I achieve “it” I will then become happy”. Chasing the desire is like running after a mirage in the desert. Krishna in Bhagavad Gita 2.70 warns that peace will elude those who run behind the desires: A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires — that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still — can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.

So let us not become slave of our unending desires but instead control it. This will bring peace and pave the way for ultimate happiness.

Krishna and Christ: Are they same or different?

Purushottam Nitai Das December 24, 2013

While being crucified, Jesus cried. But he did not cry for himself, instead he cried for those who were committing the gravest sin. Jesus was continuously praying to God to forgive those who were menacingly torturing and trying to kill him. Jesus, the son of God, had come to this world to spread the message of peace and love and to effect this change he was ready to sacrifice everything. This is the foremost quality of a holy man, for spreading God consciousness he is ready to brook any kinds of sufferings. History books take us through the lives of many such great personalities who endured great difficulties but never compromised with their principles.

Supreme Sacrifice

Prahlad was a little boy of 5 years when his own father mercilessly tried to kill him, Haridas Thakura was flogged at public places by the miscreants because he was asking people to lead a God centered life, Mirabai was poisoned because she longed to attain the love of God. Demoniac rulers like Hiranyakashipu, Ravana, Kamsa, Aurangzeb and many others always dealt brutally with men of virtuous qualities. What differentiates a holy man from a common man is the way one responds during a provoking and dangerous situation. These saintly men and women remained composed during trying circumstances and fearlessly preached the message of God. Their impeccable integrity, unquestionable honesty, unflinching determination and above all deep love for God attracted the hearts of millions of people all over the world. Without their supreme sacrifice this world would have been bereft of love and warmth. They come as a ray of hope and demonstrates that virtue always prevails over vice.

The venerable sages are sent by God in this world at regular intervals to salvage humanity. They are direct representatives of God and they use all means to instill love of God in the hearts of all. God deputes them at different places as per time, place and circumstances. Jesus Christ was one such messenger of God. Jesus, through his exemplary life was able to transform the hearts of millions of people. He preached to the masses boldly and asked them to lead a virtuous life. All the noble souls have been advocating the same message since the dawn of creation. Vedic literatures, the sacred book of humanity, have also been vociferously asking all to lead a God conscious life.

Let us try to study the divine message of God as present in Vedas and the commandments of Jesus as recorded in Bible.

Vedas and Bible – Similarities or Dissimilarities?

If we closely examine the teachings of Jesus Christ and the wisdom championed by Vedas then we will be pleasantly surprised to find many similarities. Few of them are highlighted below:

Vedic literatures advocate chanting the names of God like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra on tulasi beads. Christians also chant the name of Christ on their rosary beads.
Jesus preached, “Thou shalt not kill”. Vedic books also lay great emphasis on nonviolence, in Gita, at several places, Krishna has advocated the path of nonviolence (Bhagavad Gita 10.4-5, 13.8, 16.1-3).
Jesus sermonized, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”. Similarly Krishna says that the characteristics of a pure devotee is that he loves all and hates none: “The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]”. (Bhagavad Gita 5.18).
One of the important commandments of Bible is “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind”. Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in Bhagavad Gita also asks the seeker to constantly be engaged in devotion to Him: “Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail.” (Bhagavad Gita 18.65).

Above example underlines that both Vedic literatures and Bible espouses the message of peace and love. But sadly many have misinterpreted the pristine message of these holy books and so we see communal violence and evil in this world. For e.g. Jesus said, “Thou shalt not kill”. But many misinterpreted this message and said that Jesus meant that violence should not be committed only against human beings but animals can be killed and their flesh can be eaten. And they opened several abattoirs where thousands of animals are slaughtered daily. Such incorrect explanation of holy texts negates the true purpose of these sacred books.

However if we honestly endeavour to comprehend the profound message of the holy books and start following it in toto then this world would become a better place as the writ of God will then prevail. These scriptures are guiding light for human civilization and so should not be subjected to wrong interpretation and it should be followed “as it is”.

Krishna and Christ: Are they same or different?

God is one and he is supreme. Although he is one, he is addressed by several names like Krishna, Govinda, Gopinath, Vasudeva, Madan Mohan and so on. Lord Chaitanya has said: namnam akari bahu-dha nija-sarva-shaktis. “God has millions and millions of names, and because there is no difference between God’s name and Himself, each one of these names has the same potency as God.”Christ is another name of Krishna. Srila Prabhupada, an authority on Vedic literatures, explains that “Christ comes from the Greek word Christos, and Christos is the Greek version of the word Krsta. When an Indian person calls on Krishna, he often says “Krsta.” Krsta is a Sanskrit word meaning “the object of attraction.” So when we address God as “Christ,” “Krsta,” or “Krishna,” we indicate the same all-attractive Supreme Personality of Godhead. When Jesus said, “Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name,” that name of God was Krsta or Krishna. “Christ” is simply another way of saying “Krsta,” and “Krsta” is another way of pronouncing Krishna.”

If without any bias and motive we try to understand God and his sublime message then we would find that the Supreme Person, Our Father, is one. And every other persons of this world are our brothers and sisters. We would then shun violence, divorce hatred and live together as obedient children of God. Jesus Chirst wanted to spread this message of brotherhood for which he voluntarily suffered, and now it is upon us to fulfill his desire.

(Purushottam Kumar is a member of congregation at Iskcon Kolkata. He works in Tech Mahindra, Kolkata as “Associate Solution Designer”)

Journey Back Home

Purushottam Nitai Das December 20, 2013

Neither it can be seen or touched or felt but its existence is undeniable. Just like the tsunami waves it does not have any emotions, it entraps and swallows all. The high and the mighty, the poor and the meek, men and women, every being of this world has to bow to it and have to surrender to its dictum. The “Time”, the mightiest of all is unstoppable and unconquerable. The might of “time” has always remained unchallenged and will remain so for ever. Time annihilates everything. “Time” underlines that in this world nothing is timeless but everything is temporary. This is why scholars, philosophers and wise sages since eons have been urging people to purge their insatiable worldly desires and focus on things which are permanent and indestructible. Yudhisthira, an Indian king, who ruled about 5000 years ago once said that the most astonishing thing in this world is that people see others are dying every moment but they never ever believe that one day they too would die.

Corporal Obsession

Suppose we are presented a luxury car, say Rolls Royce, with a warning that it has a bomb in it which will definitely explode but when that will happen isn’t revealed. How many of us would be drawn with the charm of owning such a luxurious suicide car? The unequivocal response would be, “None of the two legged sane man would even look at it?” Aren’t we boasting about our IQ when we claim ourselves as astute? Because all of us are the possessor of one such vehicle and are obsessed by it. That “vehicle” is our “body” and we go overboard to display our fondness for it. Empirical evidences and intellectual introspection do confirm that one day our body will decay and disappear but still we aren’t able to look beyond it. Without any qualms everyone agrees that in this world life is as temporary as a bubble in the ocean. But just like an ostrich who buries his head in the ground when in danger, we too shrug off any such discussion or contemplation pretending that our bubble would never burst.

We whip our imagination and make elaborate plans for our future. We spend time in amassing wealth, enticing opposite sex and struggle hard to carve a niche for ourselves in the society, in fact we try hard to enjoy as hard as possible. Indeed in corporate a famous idiom is oft quoted – Work hard and party hard. But as the whiff of delicate wind destroys the house of cards similarly the powerful time shatters all our dreams and desires. Bhagavad Gita 2.18 too confirms the futility of the material body, “The material body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity is sure to come to an end.”

Most of us do not muster courage to think beyond this life because we do not have knowledge beyond this world. However, plethora of information is available in Vedic books which explain about a life where there are no miseries, no fear, no anxieties and most importantly no death. Vedic books are words of God so these are timeless and facts stated in it are eternal truths. These priceless literatures not just poignantly talks about the ephemeral body but it reveals the secret that we do not become extinct with the extinction of our body. It further explicates that we are not this body but we are souls.

The ageless soul

Just like a car starts functioning and moving when the driver sits inside the car and operates it, similarly our body becomes active once the soul enters the body. When the driver leaves, the car stops. Similarly when the soul leaves the body, the body becomes non-functional and drops dead. So, Krishna defines a wise person as those who lament neither for the living nor for the dead (B.G. 2.11).

In Gita 2.20 – 2.25, Krishna describes the attributes of the soul.

For soul there is neither birth nor death. Soul is unborn, eternal, ever – existing, immutable, everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable, primeval and eternally the same.
Soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.
As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless one.

The above revelation should be a wake-up call for all of us. As we now know that the soul is timeless and is never annihilated, we should channelize all our energy to protect our eternal soul. Vedic books inform us that once we were happily residing in the spiritual world but like a spoiled brat we refused to appreciate the love and warmth of God and other fellow spiritual citizens and so we were sent to this reformatory house (material world). In this material world also there are prisons where felons are confined till they are reformed. We too are here because of our past misdeeds but have an opportunity to correct ourselves and reclaim the citizenship of the spiritual world. Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, isn’t like an insensitive jailer of this material world but in fact he is our father who is ever ready to bestow His love upon us, in fact He eagerly wants us to get reformed and return back to Him.

Soul’s Journey

As the uncontaminated rain water upon touching the ground gets sullied, similarly the soul which is intrinsically pure gets covered with impurities upon entering this material world. Soul’s subtle covering viz. mind, intelligence and false ego decide the soul’s destiny. The first body which the soul gets after leaving the spiritual world is that of a human being. Now in the human form of life the soul has the privilege to rectify the mistakes and become utterly pure, if it happens then the subtle coverings of the soul gets removed and it travels back to the spiritual world. Now if the person misuses his human form of life and instead of endeavoring for salvation resorts to sensual pleasure then he gets entangled in this world and continues to remain here till he becomes pure. The soul occupies new bodies based on the activities done in the present life and the desires nurtured. If a person has animalistic propensities like eating flesh of animals, overeating, indulging in illicit sex, remaining unclothed etc then he acquires a body of a beast, insect, reptile, bird or tree in next life. But if one performs good deeds like giving charity, living a regulated life, is honest and kind hearted, never indulges in violence etc. then he gets promoted to heavenly planets where there is tremendous scope for corporal pleasure. But in the higher planets too one continues to remain in despondency because the fright of birth, old age, disease and death exists there too.

Returning to the spiritual world

As long as the soul flits around the material world it remains diseased. The only cure is to flush out the accumulated impurities of the heart which have made us spiritually blind and return back to God’s kingdom. God being benign takes trouble to redeem the lost souls. He personally comes to this world as Lord Krishna, Lord Rama, Lord Chaitanya or He sends His messengers like Narada Muni, Ramanujacharya, Madhavacharya, Adi Shankara, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, Srila Prabhupada to persuade us to return back to His kingdom. He has also left behind spiritual literatures like Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Isopanisad etc. which categorically explains about the importance of leading a God centered life. However we need self realized spiritual teachers to understand the sublime message echoed in these revealed literatures.

The current period in which we are living is called as Kaliyuga, the age of downfall. The scriptures explain that during this era irreligious activities will become prominent and ungodly people would occupy centre stage. It is also explained that people living in this period are less intelligent, fickle minded, unlucky and suffer from spiritual aboulia. But the era has a great boon; people in this age are required to follow a very simple process for spiritual advancement. The process was revealed by Lord Chaitanya who appeared 500 years ago in the city of Mayapur, India. He said that in this age chanting the names of God like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra is the most potent way to re-spiritualize our lives. Chanting cleanses the hearts of all the dust accumulated for millions of lifetimes; it also jogs our memory helping us to revive our original spiritual relationship with Krishna. It’s a very simple yet an extremely powerful process and anyone can do it.

While treading on the path of spirituality we need to follow few dos and don’ts to maximize our spiritual growth.

Some of the mandatory dos are:

Chanting diligently and hearing attentively the names of Krishna.
Associating with like minded serious devotees
Regularly reading Vedic books which will take us closer to Krishna
Offering food first to Krishna and then taking it as His mercy.

Some of the obligatory don’ts are:

Not indulging in any form of illicit sex including watching pornography and movies which provoke sexual fantasies. Controlling sex desire is of utmost importance for spiritual growth. Once the taste for devotional life sprouts sex desire automatically vanishes. This is best explained by Yamunacharya, a great sage, “Since I have been engaged in the transcendental loving service of Krishna, realizing ever-new pleasure in Him, whenever I think of sex pleasure, I spit at the thought, and my lips curl with distaste.”
We should refrain from committing and encouraging violence. So we should not eat flesh of other animals including beasts, birds and fishes.
Along with this we should also not indulge in gambling and any form of intoxication.

Following above process will surely guarantee a bright future and help us to transcend this material world where there is danger at every step. If a train catches fire then whether we are in a First Class AC coach or in general coach, sooner or later the fire will consume us. Similarly whether we are rich or poor, successful or unsuccessful, death will devour us one day. So, we should immediately take up the process of devotion to God lest it becomes too late. No doubt the mighty time in the form of death will apprehend us one day, and we should be ready for it. But by holding Krishna’s hand we can cross over to a world which is ours where everyone is eagerly waiting to embrace us.

Diet for an unhealthy heart

Purushottam Nitai Das November 30, 2013

Material Compassion, lamentation, hankering, tears and fear are the shields of an ignorant person to justify the weakness of their heart. Inadequate and improper foods make our body weak and prone to various bodily diseases. Similarly if we do not nourish our heart with a healthy diet then it becomes weak and prone to material diseases. The virus of lust, greed, pride, anger, envy, illusion and false ego easily attacks a diseased heart. Happiness gives way to helplessness and we constantly struggle to do the right thing in our life.Sometimes such a person even succumbs to his lower self and indulges in despicable activities.

Heart gets nourished by a pure spiritual diet. Dollops of spiritual food should be fed to the heart at regular intervals; it will make our heart strong. Our intelligence and will-power will flourish in such a spiritual environment. The list of spiritual foods necessary to nourish our hearts has been given by Prahlad Maharaj:

Sravanam kirtanam visnoh

Smaranam pada – sevanam

Arcanam vandanam dasyam

Sakhyam atma – nivedanam

(Srimad Bhagavatam 7.5.23)

“Hearing and chanting the name of Lord Visnu, remembering and serving his lotus feet, offering worship and prayers to him, becoming his servant and best friend and surrendering everything to him are the most important spiritual activities”.

If we spiritualize our life as per the above process then we would never succumb to petty weakness of the heart. We will always be blissful and will carry out the prescribed duties of our life with dexterity.

Don’t wait for old age. Let us give up the insatiable material desires now.

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